Data Reference Standard on Person(s): name architecture

1. Preamble

• 1.1 This data reference standard is intended to ensure that departments and agencies of the Government of Canada use consistent fields for capturing the diverse set of names of persons.
• 1.2 This data reference standard is intended to ensure that person names are described, collected and stored consistently in datasets to enable data interoperability and improve data quality.
  • 1.2.1 The appendix outlines the required person name fields to capture primary, secondary and alternate names, as well as names that consist of only one word (that is, mononyms) or which cannot be divided into two parts.
• 1.3 This data reference standard will be reviewed as required by the data reference standard steward in consultation with the data reference standard custodian.
  • 1.3.1 Data reference standard steward: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
  • 1.3.2 Data reference standard custodian: Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
• 1.4 The elements of personal information contained in this standard should be collected, used, retained, disclosed and disposed of in accordance with the requirements of the Privacy Act and its underlying policy suite.

2. Effective date

• 2.1 This data reference standard takes effect on September 27, 2024.

3. Requirements

• 3.1 This data reference standard provides details on the requirements set out in subsection 4.3.1 of the Directive on Service and Digital.
• 3.2 Service owners and data practitioners must:
  • 3.2.1 Apply the mandatory data fields (outlined in the appendix) to record a person name or names within the Government of Canada according to the data attributes required for your program.

4. Application

• 4.1 This data reference standard applies to organizations listed in section 6 of the Directive on Service and Digital.
• 4.2 This data reference standard applies to all datasets developed after the effective date of this standard.

5. References

• 5.1 This reference standard should be read in conjunction with the following:
  • Directive on Service and Digital
  • Appendix L: Standard for Managing Metadata (Directive on Service and Digital)
  • Policy on Service and Digital
  • Policy on Access to Information
• 5.2 Related legislation
  • Access to Information Act
  • Privacy Act

6. Enquiries

• 6.1 For interpretation of any aspect of this reference standard, contact ServiceDigital-ServicesNumerique@tbs-sct.gc.ca.

Appendix: data architecture tables

Person name fields may be repeated to accommodate more than one value. If possible, the source of the name must be accounted for, either once for the entire table or as a field within the table. If a legal name is collected, it must be captured according to Table 1, and the collection of an alternate name must also be offered.